Scouring the Galaxy
by Kendoka Girl
Summary: The crew of the Normandy searches for Saren - filling in the gaps between game play or expanding some stories from the POV's of the different characters.
1. Hostage Rescue

A/N - Happy Thanksgiving. Thank you so much for reading Deals with the Devil. I hope you enjoyed it. CODEX of terms is at the bottom. This is the first mission for the _Normandy_ under Shephard. We'll start with the OPORD for the hostage rescue, look at planning and then execution and how operations and intelligence is supposed to fuse together. Wrex gets to strut some of his stuff. The next chapter will feature the negotiation with some twists.

Other Malarkey - I almost drew a duel with sensei in Kendo, losing 3-4. Pics to be posted to lj.

PRECEDENCE: IMMEDIATE

THIS DOCUMENT IS CLASSIFIED SECRET

TO: CO SSV NORMANDY  
CC: XO SSV NORMANDY  
CC: S-2 SSV NORMANDY  
FR: DCO 5TH FLEET

SSV NORMANDY IS ORDERED TO PROCEED WITHOUT DELAY TO CLUSTER/HADES GAMMA – FARINATA SYSTEM AND INTERCEPT MSV ONTARIO.

SITUATION REPORT: TWO HOURS AGO BIOTIC TERRORISTS KIDNAPPED CHAIRMAN BURNS OF THE PARLIAMENT SUBCOMMITTEE ON TRANSHUMAN STUDIES. THE TERRORISTS ARE ABOARD THE MSV ONTARIO AND HAVE ISSUED DEMANDS TO PARLIAMENT REGARDING COMPENSATION FOR BIOTICS. THEY HAVE THREATENED HARM TO THE CHAIRMAN SHOULD THEIR DEMANDS NOT BE MET.

INTELLIGENCE: FLEET J2 REPORTS THAT MSV ONTARIO IS A KOWLOON CLASS FREIGHTER WITH MINIMAL WEAPONRY AND SENSOR ARRAY. SENSOR ARRAY OPERATES ON THE DELTA BAND WITH A 100 KHZ CYLCLE. VESSEL SHIELDING OUTPUT IS IN THE 1200 MW RANGE WITH A 200 MS CYCLE. PROBABILITY OF VESSEL DETECTING APPROACH OF SSV NORMANDY – LESS THAN 1%.

J2 ESTIMATES TERRORIST STRENGTH AT 10 INDIVIDUALS, ARMED AND DANGEROUS. IT IS BELIEVED THAT ALL TERRORISTS ARE L2 BIOTICS RATED IN THE B TO D CLASS IN POWER. WHILE IT IS BELIEVED THAT ALL TERRORISTS HAVE PARTICIPATED IN BAAT, SPECIFICS ARE UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME. CONTACT WITH THE TERRORISTS HAS BEEN MINIMAL AND THE GROUP HAS ONLY IDENTIFIED ITSELF AS THE PEOPLE'S BIOTIC FRONT. AUDIO ANALYSIS OF THE DEMAND MESSAGE INDICATES THAT THE SPEAKER IS MALE, APPROXIMATE AGE 30. SPEAKER WAS MODERATELY AGITATED, BUT WELL EDUCATED. NO REGIONAL DIALECT WAS NOTED. ONE FEMALE WAS HEARD IN THE BACKGROUND, APPROXIMATE AGE 25. VOICE RECOGNITION IS ONGOING AND BEING COMPARED WITH BAAT CANDIDATES.

WEAPONRY: THE TERRORISTS HAVE ONLY BEEN OBSERVED DURING THE KIDNAPPING AND ARE BELIEVED TO BE EQUIPPED WITH STANDARD SMALL ARMS.

SSV NORMANDY IS TO AFFECT RELEASE OF CHAIRMAN BURNS THROUGH NEGOTIATION OR TACTICAL MEANS AT THE DISCRETION OF CO SSV NORMANDY.

END

**Communications Center, **_**SSV Normandy**_** – 1923 Hours**

**Staff Commander Claire Shepard, Commanding Officer**

The OPORD or operations order was short and sweet and she knew what was expected. Shepard glanced up from the data pad and over to Lieutenant Commander Colin Pressly. He looked nervous. He always looked nervous. He was just that kind of guy; a little jumpy and full of energy. Beads of perspiration were already running down the front of his balding head between his receding hairline. "XO, opinions?" she asked.

"I can easily get us up to the _Ontario_ under stealth, but the rest is up to you. I'm not a tactical guy," he said in his edgy, high-pitched voice.

"Okay, have Joker jump us to the Farinata System and scan for the _Ontario._ I want a detailed report of the system and the location of the ship. The freighter isn't a threat, but I don't want to stumble into a trap either," she said and then looked to 2nd Lieutenant Beth Kohl, the _Normandy's_ S2 or Intelligence Officer. "S2? Any input?"

Beth looked a little frightened, her blue eyes wide beneath a prim blonde bob. The German/Danish girl graduated from the Naval Academy only a year ago and this was her first deep space assignment. She had a good record as an intelligence officer and came with a personal recommendation from Admiral John Shepard. Beth licked her lips, looking from Shepard to Pressley and back. "Ma'am, I think we have two courses of action: announce ourselves and initiate negotiations or proceed with a boarding and initiate a tactical option with the possibility of negotiations. I'll review the audio analysis for intelligence on their stance and motivations. It may help you with any discussions with the hostage takers."

Shepard nodded. "Very good." She could empathize with Beth's trepidation. After all, Shepard had only received command of the _Normandy_ a day ago and under less than ideal conditions. She couldn't shake the feeling of being a thief for having been given the ship from under Captain Anderson's nose. She tried to decline the command, but orders were orders and it was Anderson who convinced her to take it in the end. The sad look in his eyes nearly broke her heart. He didn't deserve to be kicked upstairs and shackled to a desk – that was for the Fobbits at HQ. Anderson was a decent, honorable warrior, who had played the game the right way for the right reasons.

"Dismissed," she added, bringing Pressly and Kohl to their feet. They took two steps back and then about faced to depart the room. Shepard was never a big stickler for protocol, but tradition was all she could hang onto right now. It was familiar…comforting. Suddenly, the ship seemed way too big for her and the silver oak leaves felt way too heavy on her collar. On instinct, she wanted to report to the captain and get instructions, but she kept having to remind herself that she was now the skipper. She took a deep breath and focused like Master Sha'rin had showed her. She was going to need a lot of deep breaths in the time to come.

Shepard had always been a good officer, obeying orders and taking the initiative on her own when necessary. Commanding an entire ship…being responsible for the welfare of the entire crew…it was a bit overwhelming at the moment. The feeling of being alone really sunk in.

She rose with a sigh and tapped the intercom. "Lieutenant Alenko. Rally the squad for a briefing. I want Garrus and Wrex in there too."

"Ma'am?"

"Just do it, lieutenant. Five minutes." Shepard rose and took her data pad from the table near the viewscreen. She'd been feeling very edgy lately. Too much had happened in the last week – from a promotion to induction into the SPECTREs to being given the _Normandy._ The change of command was uncomfortable at best. Relieving Captain Anderson was tantamount to treason in her mind. The whole affair left a bad taste in her mouth.

She went downstairs to what had become the operations area for the marine squad and saw Garrus Vakarian admiring the M35 Mako Armored Fighting Vehicle or AFV. He was running his hand along the metal skin of the Mako as she approached. "Good to see you, commander. I am impressed with your vehicle here. I look forward to seeing it in action."

Shepard took a long look at the AFV – fast and maneuverable, sleek, with sloped armor to deflect incoming ordnance, a low profile to go hull-down behind suitable defilade, a high-powered smooth-bore cannon and coaxial machinegun…what was not to like? "I hope she lives up to the hype, Garrus. The tanker community says she's the best armored vehicle in Citadel Space."

The turian looked at her curiously, his optical sight glinting in the overhead lights. "I've noticed that humans have a habit of calling their equipment _he_ or _she_. It's almost as if you consider them living beings."

She chuckled and lightly kicked one of the fat tires. "Yeah, I suppose we do. We think it instills an energy or spirit into the vehicle…personalizes it for the operators. In fact, we need to name this beast," she said with a smile."

"Name? Like what? For we turians, weapons of war are just that…tools to be used to defeat the enemy."

Heavy footsteps caught their attention and Shepard turned to see Urdnot Wrex stomping up. "Personally, I like _Bloody Skull_ or _Severed Leg,_" said the krogan quite seriously.

She'd never thought of those and thought they were a little extreme, but she didn't want to insult Wrex's choice of names. She did like the intimidation factor though. A nice skull and crossbones painted on the bow of the Mako just might scare the beejesus out of some batarians. "I'll give it some thought, Wrex."

"Just putting my three credits in. So, who are we going to kill?" he asked in that slow-talking, gravelly drawl of his. Shepard mused that he might was well have come from Alabama.

She put her hand out. "Well, no one yet. I'll fill you in once the marines get here. So, Wrex, you krogan name your weapons?"

The long, wicked scar down his face crinkled with what must have been delight. Asking a krogan about his weapons was like asking a new mother about her infant. He pulled out that shotgun of his and cradled it. Claire thought she saw love in his eyes. "Yeah…we do," he said with a faraway look. "This one is _mother._"

Garrus pulled his head back and opened one eye wide. "Mother? That's an odd name for a krogan to give his weapon. You _have _a mother?"

It was hard to read krogans, but Wrex almost looked hurt. "Of course I have a mother. What do you think, I was hatched from an egg?"

"Well, the thought-"

Shepard stepped forward between them. This could get ugly real fast. "Hey," she said loudly, pointing to the Mako, "I always liked the German names for tanks. You know, panther or tiger or leopard. Leopards are cool." Out of the corner of her eye she could see Kaiden leading the marines over. It was none too soon.

"Ma'am," he said a little too formally. She had been a little short with him when last they spoke.

She did a quick head count to see that the whole squad was here - eight marines, Ashley Williams, who was the squad NCO, and Kaiden, the squad leader. "Have a seat everyone. I'm going to give you the quick and dirty briefing."

Ash pointed to the turian and the krogan. "Are they cleared?"

Shepard felt an initial pang of irritation. If they weren't cleared, why the heck would she be briefing them and in an unsecured area? A good leader wouldn't bite anyone's head off for a legitimate question though. "We've granted Garrus, Wrex, and Tali provisional clearances through the Director of Alliance Intelligence. Thank you for asking." She saw a couple of eyebrows raise at the mention of her father, the Director.

Ash seemed to accept this. "Just doing my job, ma'am."

The commander brought her watch up to her face and looked at the time. "All right, 1945 hours…time hack in three, two, one, hack," she said to have everyone synchronize their watches. "Welcome people, my first mission as CO is to affect the release of Chairman Burns from the grips of Biotic terrorists."

Kaiden shifted on the ground. "Biotics?"

"Yes, I'm going to download the DCO's OPORD to your datapads. Lieutenant Kohl is going to be receiving further intelligence, including biographical data on the terrorists. Lieutenant Alenko, I want you to review this with her and see if you recognize anyone."

"Aye, ma'am."

With a push of a button, the mission profile streamed to the team's datapads. "Take a look at the specs for the _Ontario_. Our ETA is four hours. I want you all to memorize the floor plan. Chief Williams, I want you to create a mockup of the freighter's interior. We're going to begin practicing the assault in ninety minutes."

"Roger that."

"This rescue mission will come down to assault or negotiations or a combination of the two. I prefer a bloodless outcome, but we're taking no chances with the chairman's life. Kaiden, you and Kohl will be the primary negotiators should we have a chance to talk this out."

Wrex mumbled something about talk being cheap, but Shepard ignored him. "ROE for this operation will be dynamic…dependent on the terrorists' response. Lethal force is authorized only if fired upon or if the chairman is threatened. The chain of command will be me, Alenko, then Williams. Questions?"

Kaiden looked a little reluctant. "Commander, I've never negotiated a hostage situation before. I don't know if I'm qualified for that."

"Lieutenant, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to take advantage of your Biotics. I'm hoping that you will have some rapport with the hostage takers. Use that to _your_ advantage."

"Okay…I think I understand. That's a good idea."

She walked over and tapped him on the head and tousled his hair. "And besides, I'm not qualified either. I'm just making it up as I go."

This got a nervous laugh from the team. They knew that they were all on the hot seat right now – an untried CO, an untried ship, a recently formed crew…not the best of circumstances. The whole freaking Council…no, the whole freaking galaxy was going to be watching this one. Shepard could see the pundits picking apart every decision made by the first human SPECTRE. Speaking of which, she had to call back that journalist, Ben Gleck.

"Okay, dismissed. We'll meet back here at 2130, hardsuit and weapons function checks to be completed by that time. See the Quartermaster if you need anything. This one is going to be by the numbers."

_**MSV Ontario**_** – 2345 Hours**

**Urdnot Wrex**

He'd almost been bored up to now. All of the scrambling around that the humans did after the briefing seemed pretty silly. And the talking…Shepard loved to talk. Wrex always thought it was best to just wade in and let your muzzle do the talking. Your armor would absorb any damage, so why worry? The humans' obsession with planning grated on his nerves. But still, he couldn't complain too much. Chasing down the galaxy's biggest villain had a certain appeal. The fact that the Shadow Broker would pay him to tag along with Shepard was gravy.

After all the talk, there was all of the practice. Shepard had them go over every move, every step, every corner of the mockup of the _Ontario_. "Move and fight as one," she kept saying. Fight as one…that was his motto too, only he had always done it alone. After the fiftieth practice assault, Wrex was close to eating his gun out of tedium. Even the approach and boarding of the ship was anticlimactic – The _Normandy's_ stealth systems brought them up to boarding range without detection. In less than a minute the team was aboard. Shepard had chosen the boarding option with the chance of negotiations.

Now that they were on the _Ontario_, he finally felt free. Once again, he was right behind Shepard on what she called Gold Team. The other human female, Williams, led Red Team, consisting of the rest of the marines. Williams was a pretty good fighter, tough and unsubtle – you had to respect that. In the stack, Alenko and Fredericks were up front, creeping slowly to the hatch into the cargo bay. There was no resistance at the insertion point, something that made Wrex itchy. He would have much preferred a stiff firefight right off the bat. What better way to finish up the day?

Alenko put up an echoscan spike and began transmitting sensor images of the inside of the bay. There looked to be a jumble of crates and seven hostile heat signatures. The krogan had to admit that Alliance surveillance technology was pretty damn good – every member of the team shared the datalink of the picture on their HUD as red triangles, representing hostiles, walked about the bay. The fact that the idiot terrorists made no attempt to suppress their visibility…they deserved to die, simple as that. Even Shepard had this fancy armor that masked her IR and UV signature making her pretty stealthy. That was all good, but Wrex preferred to just pack on the armored plating. You could never go wrong with that.

On Shepard's order, Alenko overrode the door lock and it slid open silently. Agitated voices were heard from beyond a stack of crates…something about them going to be boarded and what should they do. If they didn't already know they had been boarded or figured out what to do, they deserved to die and Wrex was happy to accommodate them. Shepard recently told him about this human named Darwin and that seemed to fit the bill.

Alenko and Fredericks slid into the bay, creeping along with careful steps. The lieutenant scanned the ground and the ceiling to make sure no traps were going to catch them while the private kept his assault rifle up to cover him. As they had planned and practiced, he and Shepard pressed to the right to cover that flank.

"All right! Fine! I'll check it out!" a man's voice shouted from behind the left crates. Footsteps followed and Alenko put his fist up, telling everyone to hold and take a knee. Shepard looked over to Fredericks and made a slicing motion across her throat, which Wrex figured meant for the private to take care of it. The krogan knew that Fredericks was pretty green and for the commander to give him the honor of the first kill spoke volumes about her leadership. It brought back memories of his Rite of Passage. That was a fun time torching feral varren and stomping on dying klixen. And the Maw…he got tingles just thinking about that. Wrex watched closely as the private's eyes got wide, but he drew his dagger, a big, mean-looking single-edged weapon with a slanted tip. Fredericks had called it a Bowie Knife or something.

The private pressed his back into the crate, staying hidden until the terrorist walked through the passage, an irritated look on his face. These clowns had no idea what they were in for. How the heck would anyone like this get some kind of ransom out of the situation?

Fredericks deftly put his hand around the terrorist's face from behind and pulled his head up and back, exposing the throat. Alenko immediately pushed his pistol into the man's mouth and shook his head. This was a good capture. Wrex sighed and rolled his eyes. It was going to be one of those days. More talk. The terrorist was on the ground before anyone could say boo and Garrus wrapped the man up in cuffs, gagging him before he could cry out. The marines, Beau and Jazz, from Red Team dragged the captive out the hatch in a well-choreographed "potato sack" carry.

According to the plan, Gold Team now advanced in two columns, hoping to surround the terrorists and create an effective kill zone should the terrorists resist. Well, that was the plan. And, as Wrex knew very well, no plan survives contact with the enemy.

From behind cover, Gold Team brought their weapons to bear on the hostiles. "Alliance Navy, get down! Get down!" Shepard ordered…and all hell broke loose. She should have just gunned them down.

One terrorist glowed blue and Fredericks flew into the air, wailing and flailing. A ball of energy hurtled towards Shepard and the krogan, but the commander dropped to the floor to avoid it. Wrex ate it full in the face, the ball bursting over him with Biotic power. "Son of a varren!" he shouted as he staggered back from the wave. Rounds began pinging around him and he shook his head to see Alenko throw a crate with his mind right into a hostile.

Wrex's shields flashed, but he had fully recovered from the blow. He fired a load of buckshot at a moving target, but the hostile disappeared behind cover. "Thanks a lot, Shepard," he said, irritated that she avoided the hit that got him.

"Learn to duck, Wrex," she countered as she rolled out from behind a crate to send a stream of rounds into a charging terrorist's chest. The man went limp and inertia carried him heavily into a wall.

At that moment, Fredericks fell from the sky. "Craaaaaaap!" he yelled all the way down, bouncing off of the metal deck.

Shepard bolted forward to another position of cover as Alenko sprayed pistol rounds to keep the enemies' heads down. "Get up, private! Plan Delta! Execute, execute!" she commanded over the roar of Garrus' sniper rifle. Fredericks scrambled to his feet and fell in behind Alenko and they rushed down the left flank as Wrex pumped out buckshot at anyone trying to fire at the marines. Now it was their turn.

Fredericks and Alenko poured it on, catching the attention of the hostiles. Wrex saw Shepard signal and they sprinted down the right flank. A terrorist tried to take a pot shot, but a sniper round sizzled through his throat, spraying blood in the air. The man fell to both knees, gurgling and holding his neck. Wrex shouldered his shotgun. Best he put the poor SOB out of his misery.

Red Team had just come through the door and now the remaining terrorists were pinned on three sides. It was a freaking kill box and Wrex loved it. Any which way the knuckleheads turned, their back or flank was to someone. Now was the time for action.

"Cover me, Shepard, I'm moving in." He half expected her to balk and hold him back, but she merely nodded and moved in behind him. So, all that talk about taking the initiative wasn't just talk for her. This might not be such a bad gig after all.

He began to accelerate towards the three terrorists. He really didn't care who they were, what they stood for, or who they terrorized. They were just free credits to him and a few minutes of fun. He had charged three meters before they seemed to realize that they were screwed. The horrified look in their eyes was priceless as they tried to turn and engage the krogan. One man pivoted and began to glow blue, raising his hand towards Wrex. The krogan wasn't the least bit perturbed and cradled his shotgun under his arm, firing on the run. The muzzle flashed, spewing dozens of metal pellets, some sharp, some flat to do the most horrific damage to any soft target. The blast caught the man full in the chest, shearing his outstretched arm off in the process. Now at a full run, Wrex lowered his shoulder and rammed the dying man like a wrecking ball, knocking him back into another terrorist.

Shepard was right beside him and he could hear the rattle of her assault rifle. His widely spaced eyes picked up on her tightly patterned shots connecting center mass with another man to the right. The blue swirls surrounding the terrorist instantly faded to black as he fell back against some crates and slumped over. "Tango down, right!"

The last terrorist shoved the dead body off of him and tried to bring his pistol to bear against the krogan. Brave little fool. At least he'd go down fighting. Out of a weird sense of mercy, Wrex let him pop off a couple of rounds that flattened on his armor like bugs before he seized the man's arm and swung him into a crate and then another. Body, pistol, and crate crashed to the ground in a heap. The man lay there, beaten and bloody, one eye swollen shut, his hand broken and shaking. The pistol lay nearby and Wrex pushed it to the man with his foot. "C'mon, take it."

The man tried to wave the krogan away and wouldn't take the weapon. Wrex knelt down and put it in his hand. "C'mon, shoot me."

"No…you'll just kill me."

Pathetic…. The guy had promise until he started whining and crying. Someone grabbed Wrex's arm. It was Shepard.

"Okay Wrex, enough fun. He's a prisoner of the Alliance. We have to move on and find Burns."

He curled his scaly lip up like a kid caught taking varren entrails from his mother's cooking. "Awww, alright. I was getting bored with him anyway."

Shepard gave him a half grin. "I wouldn't want you to get bored now. Okay, fall in," she said and Red Team swooped in to secure the prisoner. She pointed to Ash. "I need actionable intelligence on Burn's location. Anything from the other prisoner?"

"No, he clammed up."

Surprisingly, Shepard knelt down to the injured man, who was trussed up like a roast turkey. "Dude…where's Burns? How many more are we facing?"

"Screw yourself, bitch! We're fighting for our rights!"

She patted him on the head. "Wrex, come back here." He started walking over, unsheathing a jagged knife in the process.

"Wait, wait!" the man shouted. "No, wait!"

Shepard waved the krogan off. "Sorry, get back in line Wrex."

The krogan sighed. "Quit teasing me like that Shepard."

The man started blubbering. "Burns…Burns is in the port cargo bay. We didn't want to hurt him. We just want what is rightfully ours."

"Keep talking…who's holding him? How are they armed?"

"I…I don't want to tell you. You'll just kill them."

Shepard sat cross-legged next to the man and her expression softened. "My name is Commander Claire Shepard. I've been sent to rescue Chairman Burns. I do _not_ want any more bloodshed today, but I have a mission. If you help me, I swear, I will do my best to try to bring the rest of your people home alive. Help me and you will all be treated with respect and dignity. Cross me and I will make it my personal mission to see you all burn in Hell."

Wrex crossed his arms. Damn, she was good. She had this freaky thing called subtlety. The man blurted out that there were three remaining Biotics, led by Marco Oliviera, a BaAt graduate, who was ruined by debilitating pain caused by his L2 implant.

Shepard helped the man gently to his feet. "Thank you. I give you my word that I will do everything that I can to save them," she said and then turned to Williams. "Ash, make sure that they get food and water and medical care."

She then pointed to Kaiden. "Do you know this Oliviera?"

"Not personally, but he was a couple classes ahead of me. Commander, I feel really bad. I know what he's going through."

"I want to save him, Kaiden, I really do, but can you pull the trigger if needed?"

"I can."

"Good, now get Kohl up here and start running the names and intelligence. I want a bio so we can negotiate."

Wrex snorted. Damn, more talk. Well, it was a fun day while it lasted.

CODEX –

DCO – Deputy Commander of Operations.

Sloped Armor – armor angled in the direction of incoming fire to create a greater relative thickness and to deflect the shot. Implemented by the French Army just prior to WWII and extensively used by the Russian T-34 tank.

Hull Down – when a tank utilizes an obstacle or reverse slope to shield its hull, exposing only the turret to present a smaller target.

Defilade – the use of obstacles to shield oneself from enemy fire. Aka cover.

Smooth Bore – when the inside of the barrel has no rifling.

Coaxial Machinegun – when the machinegun is mounted next to the primary weapon to engage soft targets.

Soft Targets – People.

OPORD – Operations Order.

Center Mass – Aiming for the largest target area, usually the chest.


	2. The Negotiator

W/N - A continuation of Deals with the Devil. I wanted to expand on the original game plot and add some elements of hostage negotiation and rescue. Some time in the distant past (well, only a few years ago) I had a certification as a negotiator and wanted to put some of that experience in a story. This chapter showcases Kaiden and his Biotic affiliation. Some foul language. Kudos to anyone getting the Monty Python Life of Brian reference.

Other malarkey - I may be traveling soon. I won the preliminary round of the Winter Kendo Shiai, going 13-0 for the day. I defeated the #1 seed when I parried his wrist cut with kote suriage and scored a head cut. _Men ari!_

_Shobu ari!_

**Port Cargo Bay, **_**MSV Ontario**_** – 0019 Hours**

**Staff Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko, Squad Leader**

"Stay back or I'll blow his fucking head off!" a man yelled, holding a pistol to Chairman Burns temple. In an instant, Kaiden surmised that the pistol-packing man had to be Marco Oliviera, the leader of the Biotic People's Front…or was it the People's Biotic Front. Who cared? This whole mess could come apart with one wrong move.

Burns' glistening face was covered in heavy sweat, his hands laced behind his head, his Parliamentary blue robes stained by the moisture dripping down his neck. With his eyes tightly closed, he was obviously praying, speaking silent words to the Universe. Oliviera was snuggled in right behind him, using the chairman as a human shield. The Biotic terrorist's eyes were big as saucers and his jaw was clenched as tight as a drum. Nearby, two frightened looking women hunkered down behind overturned tables, brandishing their pistols.

Kaiden felt Fredericks bring his assault rifle up, but batted it down. "Stand down, private." Without taking his sights off of Oliviera, he extended his left hand, palm out. "Okay, we don't want to hurt anyone. Just let the chairman go. We can talk about this."

He thought about pulling the trigger, but Oliviera kept moving, jerking the chairman around so no one could get a clean shot. Of all marksman, Shepard might have been able to make that one, but she gave the signal to fall back. Plus, Oliviera seemed to be getting more agitated. This could turn into a bloodbath in the blink of an eye. Better safe than sorry.

Marco shook the chairman like doll. "No talk! Get out of here! I'll kill him, I mean it!"

Shepard pushed Wrex back and pulled slowly on the strap attached to the back of Fredericks' armor to guide the marines back out without having them have to look backwards. Kaiden could feel Fredericks pull him back like they had trained and he withdrew, his pistol out and ready should the situation go to shit. "Okay, we're backing off, but we can't go away. You know that. We have to talk this out." The few seconds it took him to shuffle back out the hatch seemed like eternity.

Back behind the cover of the entryway, Shepard had already put Wrex and Garrus at the hatch to secure the inner perimeter. "No one engages without my order," she said firmly and then pointed at each team member. "Repeat my orders. I want there to be no mistake."

"No one engages without your order," they all said in overlapping voices. She then turned to Ashley. "Ash, get Red Team on the interior wall into the port cargo bay. Place charges and prepare to blow the wall and breach if necessary."

"Roger that, commander," Williams said and then hustled down the corridor. Should it come down to it, they would assault the terrorists from two sides.

Shepard snapped her fingers. "Get Kohl up here, dammit. Do I have to wait all day?"

Despite the emergency, Kaiden was enjoying watching the commander lead. She was like a conductor at a symphony, bringing the parts of the whole together to make music. In all things, she had been tactically sound and, as a marine, the deadly orchestra was beautiful to him. Young 2nd Lieutenant Kohl came running up, red faced and puffing. Though reasonably fit, she was certainly not in the same physical class as Shepard. Few could match the SPECTRE in strength, stamina, and speed.

Shepard slapped a plotting board up on the bulkhead and stuck a couple of markers to its surface. "Move your ass, S2, I need a negotiation strategy ASAP. You and Alenko put your heads together. You have five minutes."

Talk about pressure. Beth Kohl had given him an initial assessment and some biographical info on Oliviera, but it was pretty sketchy and didn't help the initial encounter in the cargo bay. It was time for something more in-depth. He put his hand on Beth's shoulder. The poor girl was shaking. "Take a breath, lieutenant. Shepard's bark is worse than her bite. Just stay focused."

Beth inhaled a long, deep breath and tried to smile. "Thank you," she said and seemed to go within herself for strength. They grabbed a marker and began a flurry of writing on the board. "Okay, Oliviera is the leader," the S2 advised. "He was born in Ecuador to a middle-class family. His mother, Luisa, was exposed to Eezo around the same time as your mother…." She stopped short, seeming to realize that she had said too much to Kaiden.

"_My_ mother?"

"Nevermind, we don't have the time. His acceptance into BaAT enhanced the standing of his family, but when the implants left him debilitated, they were devastated."

Kaiden blew out a sigh. He knew exactly what she was talking about. He'd seen it all first hand. "Yeah, a lot of good kids were messed up. Conatix was playing God and no one really knew what they were doing. I don't know, lieutenant…I'm having a lot of trouble with this one. Is his family still alive?"

"Yes sir, both parents and one younger sister," she said, showing him the data on the family. "They seem to be close."

He knew that this was an advantage for him, but he was going to hate himself for using it. "Okay, tell me about the others."

"The two females in there are Keiko Simmons and Tara Yeats…."

"Wait…did you say Keiko Simmons. Crap, I know her. She was one class behind me at Brain Camp. She must not have recognized me with my helmet on."

Beth looked concerned, her brows furrowed. "Uh, we should tell Commander Shepard about this."

Kaiden grabbed her wrist lightly. "No…wait. She's got enough on her mind right now. We can handle this." Shepard had already voiced some concern over his objectivity and him actually knowing one of the terrorists now…. She'd have his ass hauled back to the _Normandy_. A sour feeling came over his stomach for deceiving Shepard, but he had to go with his instincts on this one.

"Okay, you're the primary negotiator." She didn't look convinced.

Alenko looked up to see the commander approach and his face blushed. "What have we got?" Shepard asked bluntly.

He was pulling it all out of his ass right now. "Ma'am, I need to know what my negotiating parameters are. What can I offer him?"

"I'm going to cut off power to the cargo bay except for life support. You can offer that back to him. Of course, there's food and water. However, they don't leave the ship and we give them no way of escape."

"Understood…but _they_ don't know that yet. I can buy some time by dangling that hope though. Can we just pump in gas?"

"Negative, we don't have that much gas aboard the _Normandy. _Plus, to fill up a room that size takes time. One more thing you should know," she said. "Tactical options are in play and if I give the green light, we're going to breach at a moment's notice. Ash will come in through the interior wall, Wrex and I through the hatch, and Garrus covering with the sniper rifle. I know you care about these people, Kaiden…but the chairman comes first."

"I know. I know you'll do your best to keep everyone alive."

Shepard nodded solemnly. He knew that she didn't take life frivolously. "I will. Tell me your strategy."

"I need for you to jam all outgoing communications from them."

"Done. Why?"

"I don't want them to call for help or start sending their Biotic manifesto to the media."

She listened to his words carefully, digesting the information. "Makes sense. We can't have sympathizers complicating the issue."

He picked up a small ball and held it up. "I'm going to send this communications unit to them too so we can have a secured line to them. I'll be the only one they can talk to and, believe me, they want to talk."

Shepard looked back for a moment to see Ashley give a thumbs up. "Okay. I just got a signal that the interior wall is prepped for breaching and that fiber optic cable has been set up for surveillance. We should get a picture in a moment." She opened the lid on a monitor and the image of the interior of the port cargo bay came up. The three Biotics were hidden behind overturned tables with Burns pulled in close with them. Any wrong move and the chairman was dead…along with all of their careers.

Shepard zoomed in on the scene and turned up the audio. Oliviera's eyes were wide open, darting around at imaginary threats. This wasn't good – he was way too twitchy. Kaiden wondered what had happened to Keiko, she was always solid as a rock. He'd never known her to have any problems with her L2. She wasn't the type to be swayed by fanatics either. Why the heck was she here?

Kaiden searched his mind for clues as to why Keiko would get mixed up in this bunch, but he couldn't find any answers. Shepard slapped him on the back, breaking his train of thought. "Okay," she said, "power's off in the bay. It's game time."

Alenko felt the pucker factor rise dramatically. This was clearly beyond the scope of his training and the stakes were high. Like Shepard, he was going to have to make this up as he went. "Get me to the hatch so I can deliver this," he said, holding the communications unit. He took a deep breath to clear his head and wiped away some trickles of sweat on the tip of his nose. He saw the expression on Beth's face which likely mirrored his own doubt. "You ready for this?"

"Not really, but let's get to it."

As they made their way to the hatch, he could see Ashley saying a prayer. She never struck him as the religious type, but you could never read a book by its cover. Wrex and Fredericks were at the entrance, hunkered down behind cover with Garrus just behind them with his sniper rifle held loose, but ready. "We got you covered, LT," Fredericks said, never taking his eyes off of the bay.

Kaiden inched forward, peeking around the bulkhead. It was pretty much the same as he had seen through the fiber optics – the three terrorists hunkered down behind tables and Burns bundled up and held at pistol point. Well, it was now or never. "Hello!"

Rounds pinged off of the wall, causing Kaiden to jump back. "Dammit! Hey! Hey! I just want to talk. That's all…talk!"

"Go away! Get us transport off of this freighter…right now! I swear I put a bullet in his head!"

Marco was agitated all right. This was a powder keg ready to blow. Kaiden knew he had to diffuse the situation immediately.

Beth whispered into his ear, "Use his name. Build some rapport with him."

"Okay, Marco, I need to talk to the CO. I want to help you."

"If you want to help, get us out of here! No tricks!"

"Let me work on that Marco. But first, I'm Kaiden," he said and saw Keiko take a peek over the table. So, she did remember him. "Marco, I have to know what you need so I'm going to give you this communications unit."

"No way! It's a trap. I know you Alliance types. You'd sell your mother for a credit!"

"Marco, I'm just a marine. I'm only here to help you. Look, I tell you what, you guys thirsty in there? I'm going to give you the comm unit with some water as a gesture of good faith. It'll help us talk more easily. I hate yelling back and forth like this."

There was some heated discussion behind the tables, which Beth's laser mike picked up. She listened on her head phones, nodding several times. "Your friend Keiko is trying to convince him to take it."

"Okay Kaiden!" Marco yelled. "We'll take it. We want our story told! You hear me? And get me that transport!"

Kaiden snapped his fingers. "I need water, now," he said, but Shepard was already there with a case of bottles. He turned to give her a smile and then yelled back into the bay. "Thanks, I know we can work together. I'm going to ask about that transport after I send in the water. One thing though Marco, I need to know more about your situation. My CO is a ball buster and it's going to be hard to convince her."

Shepard snorted. "A ball buster, huh?" she asked as she put a small tracked robot on the deck to carry the water. He looked back at her and gave her an embarrassed smile. She narrowed one eye at him. "Okay, Mister Funnybones, send it in."

He placed the case of water and the sphere on the robot's outstretched arm and hit the button to activate it. The robot whirred and rolled into the bay up to the overturned tables. A hand reached around and took the case and the ball. Kaiden nodded. That was step one. The hardest part was yet to come.

During the brief respite, Beth drew some figures on the board representing the known terrorists and Burns. Then, spokes led off to known family members and then motivational issues. "Lieutenant Alenko, you have a good start with Marco. Now let's start to get into the meat of what they want and why. Keep diffusing him."

"That's easier said than done, Beth. He's pretty volatile."

"Just never tell him "no" directly. Always deflect. Always delay."

"Should I tell him I'm a Biotic? I mean, wouldn't that be the ultimate rapport?"

"My thoughts are that we shouldn't play that card just yet…because it is such a trump card. I suspect though that we'll have to play that card sooner rather than later though."

Kaiden was skeptical, but nodded. "Okay, I'll trust your judgment on this one. You just tell me when. So, what about the transport? What do we tell Marco?"

She pursed her lips, thinking hard about this one. "We're going to have to just tell him that we're working on it. We know that the commander is never going to approve of them escaping."

The line on their end crackled with an incoming call. "Kaiden! Kaiden, are you there?" It was Marco.

The two lieutenants exchanged glances. Marco was coming to them – that was a good sign. He hit the voice button. "Marco, I'm here. How are you guys doing?"

"How the heck to you think I'm doing? Where's my God-damned transport? What the heck are you doing in there? You _want_ Burns to die?"

Whoa, Marco was still ramped up and Kaiden needed to take a big gulp of air. "Marco, I don't want anyone to die. I talked to the CO and it's not easy. You're going to have to give me something I can take to her. Why are you guys doing this? Help me to understand."

"What's there to understand? We were all selected because of our Biotic potential. We all got the implants. We all went to Brain Camp. We all did our duty. And then, you know what? The Alliance fucked us! That's what!"

Kaiden was really feeling mixed now. He knew how many Biotics were thrown under a bus as research moved on. He was one of the lucky ones. _All_ he suffered were occasional migraines, but some of the unfortunates…madness and even death. There, but for the Grace of God, go I. "What happened, Marco? Please tell me what happened." He already knew what happened.

A pained, frustrated grunt came over the line. "Kaiden…you can't imagine. We got these implants from the government…you know, to increase our biotic power. Some of us…ten percent of us got the side effects. Horrible, blinding pain, you can't imagine the pain! I watched my best friends go mad…reduced to gibbering idiots."

"I'm sorry." Kaiden had to bite his lip. He'd seen it too.

"You should be sorry! You should all be sorry! And then, when we were crippled and insane, all we wanted was proper compensation! And you know what we got? Do you know?"

He knew. They got nothing. He looked over to Beth and she nodded. It was time. "I know, Marco. I know."

"We got fucked Kaiden! That's what we got! How do you know? How can you know what we've been through?"

"Marco…I'm an L2. I know."

'What? You're lying! That's bullshit! Get me that transport now!"

"Wait Marco. I was in Brain Camp…Jump Zero…back between 66 and 69. I remember you Marco. You were a couple classes ahead of me. I'm an L2 just like you."

Silence.

Then, the audio feed picked up more hushed voices – Keiko was confirming to Marco that Kaiden was legit. More silence.

"Okay Kaiden, say I believe you. You know then. You know what we stand for. You know we're right."

Beth held up a written note for Kaiden to see. _He's calmer now. Keep him talking._

"I do. But, is this the right way to do it?"

"Damn right it is! How else are we supposed to get Parliament's attention? Tell me that! We've tried everything else. We've tried petitions, protests, you name it. Nothing works!"

"I hear your frustration, Marco. I'm working on the transport. In the meantime, is there anything else I can do for you?" He needed to find out more about this issue.

"You guys turned the power off. There's no air. Turn it back on."

He looked back at Shepard and she whispered to him, "Get a concession from him and it's done."

"Marco, I can do that. Do me a favor though, will you? We need to work together. Don't point that pistol at the chairman please. It makes me nervous."

"Okay fine. Just get the power back on."

The video showed Marco lowering the gun and there was a collective sigh of relief. Shepard pointed back at Ashley and then there was light.

Kaiden got back on the line. "Marco, there you go. Can you feel the air yet?"

"Yes, I can feel it. Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Beth gave him a thumbs up and showed him another paper. _Good job. His saying thanks is a big step. You're building rapport._

Kaiden wiped another dribble of sweat from his forehead. This was tough stuff. He leaned back and pushed into the bulkhead for support. Somehow, this gave him confidence…that, and seeing Shepard's nod of approval. "Hey Marco, as well you know, it's going to take some time before a transport arrives," he said. He didn't like lying, but it was a necessary thing. If he had to trick Marco to bring them all home alive, he'd say two plus two was ten. "Do you mind if we chat to pass the time?"

"No, it's okay. I want to know how my people are out there. You obviously got past them. Did you kill them?"

Kaiden took in a quick breath. How would he answer this one? There was no good way to tell him. Beth held up another note. _Be vague._

"There was some fighting out here. I'm not sure about everyone, but we have some of your people. They're being fed and being given medical attention. Our Doctor Chakwas is the best. She'll see that they're cared for. Marco, all you have to do is come out. I'll let you see them."

"I'm not ready Kaiden. I'm not ready. Thank you for taking care of them, but we have some demands about compensation for our people. You understand Kaiden? This is for us…for we Biotics."

Damn, he hated how Marco used _we_. "Yeah, I know. What kind of compensation are you asking for?"

"We want full medical benefits and retraining. All we want is to live normal lives again."

"That's pretty reasonable, Marco. What happened? Why did you take Chairman Burns? Wasn't he working to improve conditions for Biotics?"

"It wasn't enough, Kaiden! It was too damn slow! You know how long we've been working on this issue with Parliament? It's been years, dammit, years! Is it too much to ask for some action from the fucking government? Kaiden, I've seen the fat cats! I've seen the corrupt bastards pocket the credits! Why can't we get a few fucking credits and some medical service for all the pain we've been through? How fair is that?"

Kaiden sighed. "I can't blame you for being angry. I've seen it too. It makes me angry, but would you want your family to see this happening? What would your sister say? She'd want you to be safe."

"She'd want me to hold my head up high and to do the right thing."

"You're doing the right thing, but we have to do it the right way. I want you to live to see how this turns out. I want you to reap the benefits of what you're trying to do."

"How do we do that, Kaiden, when you've got guns pointed at us?"

He had an idea of where to go. "You let me talk to Chairman Burns. You let me convince him of what the right thing is."

There was a long pause. The video showed Marco putting his head in his hands. He looked exhausted. "Okay, you talk to him. You tell him what we've been through."

"Your parents would be proud of you. This is going to turn out all right. Put him on."

There were some shuffling noises and then another voice spoke. "This…this is Chairman Burns. I heard your discussion. I know what they're going through and I want to help, I really do." He sounded scared, really scared.

Mister Chairman, listen to me," Kaiden said slowly and calmly. "We're going to get you all out of there safely, but you have to tell me what Parliament is going to do about Biotics. We _deserve_ fair treatment!"

Beth pulled his shoulder and showed him a note. Her face was a picture of concern, eyes narrowed and mouth open. _You're getting too attached._

He brushed her off. "We need to know, Mister Chairman."

"Kaiden, I swear, we will revisit the issue. I will submit a bill for full medical coverage and fair monetary compensation. We will have vocational placement so that they can live productive lives."

Kaiden exhaled. That was good news. He would follow this bill and make damn sure it passed, so help him God. "Marco, you hear that? It's a good offer. I'm going to stay on this like a junkyard dog. I'm going to do my best to see us get justice."

"I hear you, Kaiden," Marco said. "I'm going to discuss it with my companions."

On the monitor, Marco slid back and began talking to the two women. Keiko was nodding emphatically, but the other woman, Tara, put her hand out. "What are they saying?" Kaiden asked.

Beth listened closely to the audio feed. "Tara is saying that it's not good enough. What assurances do they have that we won't just kill them if they agree? She wants off this freighter."

Marco shook his head at Tara and turned back to the communications sphere. "Kaiden, we're not all in agreement, but I've got to do what is best for us. Do I have your word…as a fellow L2…that you'll help us get justice?"

"Marco, as God is my witness, I will not let Chairman Burns off the hook until we see what's fair. I'm going to let your family know how brave you are. I'll do it personally…no, we'll do it together." He could feel the tension easing now. The piercing knot in his temples was fading away. He watched the monitor and Marco nodded. The man placed his pistol on the floor and seemed to shrink. Then, there was movement behind him. Why didn't Kaiden see that coming? He saw Tara's pistol moving and a gunshot rang out. His blood ran cold.

Everything erupted in slow motion as Kaiden's eyes grew huge. Shepard was yelling into her mike, "Full breach! Green light!"

Kaiden tried to shout above the chaos, "No!"

Dammit all to Hell.

CODEX –

Naval Terms for common things aboard ship – The Navy doesn't call things by their right names like we normal military types.

Door = Hatch

Bulkhead = Wall

Floor = Deck

Hall = Corridor

Left = Port

Right = Starboard

Front = Fore

Back = Aft

Breaching – The act of dynamically entering a room to clear it of hostiles and/or to rescue hostages.

Pucker Factor – A military term for the more that your orifices pucker the more tense and dangerous the situation must be.


	3. Full Breach

W/N - This ends the hostage story arc and we'll see if anyone survives. I'm going to add a short piece about the Mako and then begin a piece that covers the period between ME1 and ME2. Much thank you to Kaarlo and Joe for support. If you haven't already done so, please read "Coming Aboard," followed by "Deals with the Devil," which begins this story arc.

Other malarkey - I have permission to take the Kendo Nidan (2nd degree black belt) exam at the end of June. I have worked up to fighting out four draws with my sensei, a Nanadan Kyoshi. I aced my annual pilot checkride and night qualifications. I also managed to win the May Madness pistol competition over 19 competitors using my trusty Glock 22 .40 S&W. See blog for details.

**Port Cargo Bay, **_**MSV Ontario**_** – 0044 Hours**

**Staff Commander Claire Shepard, Commanding Officer**

How did this thing go to hell and a handbasket so quickly? How the heck did Alenko miss that? He was getting too close to the problem and she should have seen that coming. There was no time to be pissed now. Besides, she stuck Kaiden in that difficult position in the first place. He was an L2 biotic as well. She'd seen first hand the migraines that he'd been afflicted with – and he was one of the lucky ones according to Doctor Chakwas.

Come what may, Chairman Burns had to be saved…whatever the cost in the blood of others. She was out of options. Shepard snapped her hand at Ashley Williams, index finger pointed out like a pistol and Ash flicked the switch on the breaching charges. In an eruption of fire, smoke, and sound, the entire bulkhead blew into the cargo bay with bits of metal, wadding, and wire swirling through the air.

"Green light! Go, go, go!" she yelled as she led the assault through the breach. The visor on her helmet instantly switched over to thermal targeting and she could see bright red and yellow shapes scurrying around in the bay. A female with a pistol was aiming down at a wounded man, ready to finish him.

She really didn't want to kill anyone else today. These poor sons of bitches were just trying to get some compensation for the shitty hand that they'd been dealt by Conatix, the Alliance, hell, the whole Human Race. With adrenaline surging through her genetically enhanced blood, Shepard sprinted into the bay with inhuman speed, raising the optics of her assault rifle to her eye. Still, it was going to be a tricky shot – a moving target behind cover who was about to kill the hostage. This was why they paid N7's the big bucks. Hah.

The thermal image of a woman's head filled the scope and she began pressing back on the trigger, but then, there was a blur of movement and the head was gone. Rounds tore through empty space, striking the wall behind. What had happened? Shepard had completely lost situational awareness.

She lowered the muzzle as she cleared the smoke and her visor switched back to the visible spectrum. The two female terrorists, Keiko Simmons and Tara Yeats were locked in battle, wrestling over the pistol. Which one should she shoot? She could just grease them both and let God sort it out. But that wasn't why she was here. A quick glance showed Chairman Burns cowering in a corner and a wounded Marco Oliviera struggling to get up. Shepard changed directions on a dime and rushed towards the chairman. He was the only thing that mattered in this whole messed up situation.

As she dashed to Burns she heard the crack of a sniper rifle and saw the pistol in Tara's hand disintegrate into a shower of pieces. That turian, Garrus, was really beginning to impress her. In the next instant, the krogan, Wrex, body slammed the two brawling woman. Shepard involuntarily winced – that had to hurt.

Marco was now back on his feet with a pistol in hand and Shepard cursed herself for getting distracted. As she brought her rifle up to his face, his weapon was already at Burns' head. The standoff had resumed.

"Commander, no!" she heard and knew it was Kaiden. What the heck kind of game was he playing? God help her, if he got Burns killed, she'd cashier him personally. She felt a hand on her arm, trying to get her to lower her rifle.

"Marco," Kaiden continued, "Burns is going to make this right. You heard it…I heard it. We can still walk out of here."

Marco was trembling. Shepard could see fear in his eyes now. He didn't want to die. Perhaps she should trust Kaiden. She lowered her weapon a notch, but if his trigger finger so much as twitched, she'd double tap him right in the forehead.

Burns sputtered and wiped snot from his nose. "I swear, Marco. I swear I'll revisit the issue. I didn't know how bad the L2's had it. I will make this right!"

Kaiden put his hands out as a peaceful gesture. "Trust me, Marco. I won't let this die. I won't let you die. You're going to live to see reparations made to the L2's. One day, you'll be back on your feet and we'll have a drink. My treat."

Prepared for the worst, Shepard slowly tensed the grip on her weapon and took up the slack in her trigger. Someone could breathe on it now and it would send a stream of rounds into Marco's heart. However, a defeated sigh snaked up from Marco's throat and out of his mouth and he shrunk like a popped balloon.

"I don't want to die. I trust you, Kaiden," Marco said as he lowered his pistol.

Shepard felt her knees quiver as the tension evaporated. She motioned to Kaiden. "You do the honors, lieutenant."

Kaiden stepped forward and accepted the pistol from Marco's hand. "Marco, come with me. I'll get you medical attention. Our Doctor Chakwas is the best."

Claire put her hand on Marco's shoulder. "I promised you'd be treated with dignity and respect. Go with Kaiden. He'll see that you get treatment and something to eat and drink. You'll have to take responsibility for what's happened, but Kaiden and I will make sure the subcommittee does what's fair and right. You have my word on that."

Marco made a weak smile. "Thank you. I'll go quietly."

Shepard extended a hand to Chairman Burns. "I expect you to keep to your word too, Mister Chairman. In the meantime, the hospitality of the _Normandy_ is open to you, with my compliments."

Burns pulled himself up to stand on shaky legs. "I…I…I will keep my word, commander," he said and then turned to Kaiden. "Thank you, lieutenant. You saved my life. I won't forget that."

"I was just doing my job, sir," the lieutenant said. "Come, we'll get you cleaned up."

Burns nodded and then pointed to Keiko Simmons. "You might want to know that she's an Alliance operative. She managed to tell me that during the standoff and she attacked the other woman before any of us were killed. She was very brave."

Shepard cocked an eyebrow. So, Simmons probably works for her dad. She snorted. "Hey Wrex, cut that one loose," she said with a point of her finger and walked over to where the krogan had trussed the two women up. She gave a quick wave to Kaiden, who left with Marco and the chairmen along with the squad of marines.

"Aww, Shepard, it was like catching fish on the Citadel."

"I didn't think there were fish on the Citadel."

"Don't spoil my imagination."

Claire chuckled. The krogan had the driest wit. She pulled Keiko up – the woman was still dizzy from being body slammed by Wrex. She guided the prisoner off to the side, away from prying ears. "Flash," Shepard said.

"Thunder."

The commander nodded. Keiko had given the proper response to the challenge. Alliance operatives were given a parole to identify them as friendly should such a situation like this occur. "So, I should say thank you for helping to save Chairman Burns."

"You're welcome. I know you're a little busy, commander, but when you get a chance, can I access your secure communications to make my report?"

"No problem. Always…happy to help the Intelligence Community," Claire said, a little miffed at the fact that her father neglected to inform her of an agent involved in her operation. "Say, Miss Simmons, can you give me any insight into why the Director failed to notify me of your presence? You could have been hurt."

Keiko shrugged. "I can't speak for the Director, but I've heard he doesn't trust Operations."

Claire curled her lip. "Yes…it's all about trust, isn't it?" Apparently, father and daughter still had a long way to go.


	4. Fields of Armor

W/N - I kind of got in a groove all of a sudden. I'm also catching up on reading too and some reviews are on the way. This one is all action from the standpoint of a tank battle and I changed the storyline just a bit to facilitate that. I wanted to showcase the M35 Mako and what it could do. I once got a ride in a Marine Corps LAV and it was quite the experience so I hope to translate the sense of claustrophobia from being in an armored vehicle and write realistic armored combat. I want to thank Jen and Kaarlo and Joe for support and inspiration. Arigato gozaimasu! :D One more chapter should do this story arc. Though out of order, "One shot, One Kill" comes next and showcases a sniper battle on Feros. The CODEX at the bottom translates terms.

Other malarkey - Wonderful Iaido practice. I got top marks on my demonstration of the waza Yamaoroshi (mountain wind) and Takiotoshi (waterfall). In the first, you avoid someone trying to take your sword, knock him on the head, and then cut him down. In the second, you avoid the same from an attacker behind you, you stab him, and then cut him down. I'm finally getting consistantly good extension with my cuts, which is reflecting in my tameshigiri or cutting of straw targets.

**Fields of Armor**

**Noveria - Aleutsk Valley – 1230 hours**

**Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams – Squad NCO**

It sounded like the world was being torn apart – a near deafening roar engulfed the M35 Mako followed by the entire vehicle being shaken like a child's toy. Red lights flashed in the cabin and a monitor showed a blank spot where their shields once held.

Thank God for sloped armor.

"Go hull down in that defilade, chief," Commander Shepard said with only the hint of tension in her voice. They had gotten lucky. The shot that fried their shields had deflected off of the armor and detonated just behind them.

Ash didn't have to be told twice. She floored the accelerator and the six fat tires of the Mako dug into snowy ground, spitting up ice behind them. If they could make it to cover, Tali could fix the shields right quick. The quarian had an uncanny knack for mechanics. Too bad she had to be all scrunched up in the back of the tank to fit. A sudden electronic shrieking in the cabin snapped Ash back on task and she saw a spike on their warning receiver. A laser sight had lined them up for a shot.

"Incoming!" called Lieutenant Alenko in the Defensive Operators seat next to her. He'd saved their asses several times already by disrupting Geth targeting. Alenko waved his hand over the glowing control panel and the Mako began releasing smoke as chaff shot out of tubes on the hull. "Countermeasures deployed!"

Ash saw the plume of energy on the monitor coming from the port side. That damn Geth Armature had just fired another charged round. She could hear the rattle of the Mako's coaxial machinegun firing in retaliation. Seated just behind her, the commander was on the Mako's guns. The chief watched as the round closed like a lightning bolt. The timing would have to be close.

_One, two, three…._

Ash pumped the other peddle and thrusters lifted the Mako off of the frozen ground. The Geth's shot shrieked underneath them and slammed into the valley wall. For a couple of moments they floated midair until the feeling of weightlessness took hold.

_Here it comes._ She always hated this part and grit her teeth. The squeal of metal and rubber hitting the ground combined with the sudden jarring sensation of gravity told Ash that they were back on the surface. If it wasn't for that Mass Effect core instantly reducing their mass they'd all be jello by now.

"Target, two-two-five, engaging!" Shepard shouted over the din and the whir of an energy pulse spun up. The 155mm cannon spat out a guided APDS round, which quickly scanned for the Armature. Upon leaving the barrel, a ceramic sleeve, or sabot fell away, and guidance fins deployed from the round. The projectile changed course and rocketed at the enemy. An Armature is nothing if not tough and it threw up a blizzard of small caliber fire to defend itself. One shot nicked the body of the projectile, but it wasn't enough to stop all of that kinetic energy. The 155mm shell crashed into the head of the Armature, its hard casing slicing through armor like warm butter to inject molten metal into the enemy's electronics. A millisecond later, the warhead detonated, shattering the Geth and hurling chunks of metal dozens of meters away.

"That's a kill," Shepard said as the Mako stopped on a dime behind cover.

Ash turned back to see Tali shake her head as if dizzy. "You okay back there?"

The quarian's bright eyes blinked a couple of times. "I'll live. Just let me clear this nutrient paste from my mask and I'll fix your shields."

It looked like there were blotches of goo stuck on the inside of the tinted visor. It was a rough ride and it was better if the chief didn't ask. A jet of air from inside of Tali's helmet blew the goo away and she gave Ash a thumbs up. Tali was starting to catch onto some of the quainter human customs.

"We're going to get more company soon," Kaiden said, pointing out more red triangles on the countermeasure scanner.

"Where the heck are Garrus and Wrex?" Ash asked. "Are we fighting this war all by ourselves?" Just like she predicted, the aliens had probably bugged out on them. So, here they were, the Citadel's war dogs, fighting the bear all alone.

"The M29 Grizzlys are pretty slow, chief," the commander said. "Give them time to catch up. After all, not every tank can fly like the Mako."

When they left Port Hanshan down the hill, the turian and the krogan "borrowed" one of the M29 Grizzly tanks to follow the Mako. Even Lance Corporal Fredericks jumped in, still eager to prove his mettle. Behind them came Captain Maeko Matsuo with three more vehicles. Well, they were going to need them all as a battle was brewing.

Shepard tapped her headset. "Garrus, what's your status?"

"…just under a klick…making best speed…. Be advised…not…. Over."

Ash sighed. Communications were horrendous in this storm that was raging over the valley. They just had to hunker down for a minute while Tali got the shields back up. The chief put her hands together and said a silent prayer to the Man upstairs. There had been a lot of prayers lately, especially after the gig to Therum. They barely made it out of the Prothean ruins before being roasted alive or crushed. Ash knew that God was looking out for her though. It was His loving hand that had kept her safe in battle after battle against all odds. What was that passage from Isaiah that she loved so much? She couldn't recall it at the moment.

"Hey chief," the commander said, drawing her attention behind her, "you up for another history lesson?"

"Sure, commander."

"Battle of Kursk, Eastern Front, Nineteen Forty Three. German Field Marshal Von Manstein nearly beat the Soviets, but in the end, was decisively defeated. The Russians had great defense in depth and were masters of deception. This'll be the Geth's Kursk."

Ash furrowed her brows but didn't quite get it. "Commander?"

Just then, Tali tapped on the ceiling of the Mako. "Shields ready, Shepard."

Shepard smiled as she tapped her headset. "Garrus, we can't get our shields back online. We're falling back!"

Again, Ash furrowed her brows. What in God's name…?

"Commander," Alenko chimed in. "The Geth are closing rapidly. I've got four Armatures and infantry. Initiating jamming."

The chief understood. She'd read about Kursk in her staff school back on Arcturus – it was the largest tank battle in human history and it took the lives of two and a half million people when it was over. From then on, the Nazis fought a losing war to complete annihilation. Ash hoped this 'Kursk' would have a bit less casualties. "On your orders, commander."

The red triangles on the scanner panel accelerated towards the Mako. A distant warbling sound broke the quiet wintery landscape, signaling the Geth onslaught. "Arty, incoming," Shepard said with calm determination. "Hang tight, marines." In the dim red light, her face had a scary juxtaposition of serenity and demonic bloodlust that gave Ash a shiver.

A moment later, the deep _crump_ of artillery rumbled through the cabin and bits of ice and shrapnel tinkled along the hull of the Mako. It was really tough to tell with quarians, but Tali's scrunched up face behind the nearly opaque mask spoke of near terror.

"Normally," Tali said nervously, wincing with each explosive near miss, "the Geth would have their infantry screen their heavy machines, but I think they really want to kill you, Shepard. They're throwing caution to the wind."

Shepard looked at the back of her hand as if she were casually checking her nails. "That's what I'm hoping for."

Suddenly, the barrage stopped. The Geth would be closing in for the kill. The commander patted Ash on the shoulder. "_Chargez_!" she said in French. The chief smirked as she jammed down on the accelerator. The commander always had a thing for Napoleon. _Vive l'Empereur_!

The fat tires bit into the snow and the Mako jolted from behind cover. Ash kicked in the thrusters to give them that extra push and the tank sailed into the blizzard to land on a Geth trooper, knocking it under the wheels. The Mako bounced on the trooper and Ash squealed the tires over it, smearing its metal innards over the surface of Noveria.

The Mako jumped ahead again, catching a rocket trooper full on the front of the tank. Ash swore she saw a head fly by the window. This was a good day to be a marine.

Ash swerved the Mako left, sending up a spray of snow as the left tires lifted off of the ground. They had to keep moving. Speed was life and only a tank like the Mako could survive this maelstrom. They tore into the heart of the enemy formation, denying them the use of their long-range weapons. The turret slewed to starboard, launching another APDS round into an Armature, ripping two of its legs clean off.

"Mobility kill," called Shepard. The thing could still fight, but it wouldn't be moving anymore.

"Incoming!" shouted Kaiden as a spike appeared on his warning receiver. He shot chaff from the starboard dispenser and more metal strips burst into the air. It was too late though. A charged round clipped the aft panel and burst into a blue fireball. An ungodly grinding noise pierced Ash's ears and she thought her head would come apart.

"God have mercy," she cried more in pain than any real prayer. She skidded the Mako to the left none too soon and the right tires gripped the very edge of the roadway over the valley before the Mako lurched back onto the trail. Another meter and they'd be on their way a mile down to the bottom. Even the Mako wouldn't have survived that.

"That was too freaking close. Fall back, fall back now, chief," Shepard told her.

"Roger that, commander." Ash stomped on the accelerator and they flew back down the road with the Geth in hot pursuit. Rounds pinged off of the shields and a rocket whizzed by. Ash's heart pounded in her chest – they had whittled the Geth down by a bit, but they were still just a blink away from a fiery death. She wiped a dribble of sour sweat from her brow.

For such big beasts, the Armatures moved pretty quickly and they weren't too far behind. Fountains of ice erupted all around them as the Geth lay down a sheet of fire from behind. What other trick did Shepard have up her sleeve? It had better come soon or Kaiden's countermeasures were going to run out of luck.

"Garrus, we're coming around the corner!" the commander called. "Be ready."

"I'm here, Shepard."

The Mako veered around a turn and past the four M29's coming up the hill. The tank battle was joined. The slower Grizzlys rounded the corner and opened up with their main cannon, bringing down one of the Armatures in a hail of explosions. Ash yanked hard on the right brake, causing the Mako to spin 180 degrees around, kicking up snow in a circle. Shepard gripped Ash's shoulder. "Get back in the fight, chief. Get back in the fight!"

Garrus and Wrex' Grizzly lumbered up the road, leading a single file armored column towards the Geth in the counterattack. A shot from its main gun shattered another squad of troopers. As Ash sped to catch up, Shepard got on the radio. "Deploy in line. Let's get all of our guns on them."

Just then, two shots smashed into the lead Grizzly. Its turret tumbled into the valley as smoke poured from holes in the hull. The dead tank now blocked the way, threatening to stall the whole attack. Ash's stomach churned at the thought of Fredericks in the burning tank.

Suddenly, that passage came back to her:

_Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow._ Come what may, she knew she would be forgiven and absolved for the crimes of her family.

"Dear Lord, give us the victory this day," Ash whispered as she continued to accelerate into the inferno of battle.

**CODEX –**

APDS – Armor Piercing Discarding Sabot. A type of anti-tank ammunition.

Jamming – Broadcast of RF energy to disrupt the search or targeting of enemy sensors. Also known as Electronic Countermeasures (ECM) or Electronic Attack (EA).

Arty – Artillery.

HE – High Explosive. More useful for anti-personnel attacks.


	5. See the hill, take the hill

W/N - Merci to Jen, Thug, and Kaarlo. Let's continue with the tank battle and a few romance plot tidbits. I'm hoping the feeling of armored combat translates here. These are just snapshots of different parts of the game that I wanted to expand on. I'm thinking about a post Virmire one shot next.

Other malarkey - Too much aviation excitement... Preparations for the Nidan exam. I've started swimming again to build stamina as well as consulting with a sports performance coach.

**Fields of Armor**

**Noveria - Aleutsk Valley – 1230 hours**

**Urdnot Wrex**

He'd waited for this very moment. Up until now, Noveria was downright boring him to tears. Sure, there was a brief firefight in the Synthetic Insights office with the corrupt ERCS guards and then a skirmish in the vehicle bay with some Geth. But otherwise, it was talk, talk, and more talk. So, there was no way he was going to be left behind when Shepard headed out into the storm, even if he had to ride with the turian.

He had to admit that Garrus wasn't that bad a guy. The turian could fight and that was a good thing. If only he and that Fredericks kid could get over all of this self doubt. The only thing that mattered was a good fight and the sooner they realized that, the sooner they would stop whining.

The Mako flew by them as it rounded the turn and their M29 Grizzly popped into the open right into the forefront of the Geth assault. Those dumb-ass machines fell right for Shepard's trick about her shields being down. He let out a snorting chuckle.

On the guns, Wrex launched an armor-piercing round that ripped into the lead Armature. Just after impact, the shell blossomed into fire and was immediately followed by two more shots from the trailing Grizzlys. The Armature spasmed with each hit, finally falling flat on its face in a thunderous crash.

The krogan slapped the dashboard with glee. "Haha!" he bellowed and then slapped Fredericks on the head. "Full ahead, boy!"

Garrus just rolled his eyes, but then looked intently at the scanner scope. "Infantry deploying at two o'clock. Squad strength."

Wrex' ears perked up and he swung the turret to the right. The scope showed Geth troopers bounding over the snowy ground into a wedge formation. A couple of rocket troopers took a knee to line up a shot.

"Target, two hundred meters," Wrex said as he put the targeting sight in the middle of the formation. "HE shot away." He felt a warm tingle in his belly.

A deep _boom_ rang through the cabin as a high explosive round burst from the barrel and streaked into the wedge of Geth. The proximity fuse detonated the shell in the middle of the group, five meters off the ground for maximum lethality. In the blink of an eye, the entire squad was engulfed in fire, followed by a shockwave that ripped them limb from limb into metal bits.

"Nice shot, Wrex!" Fredericks shouted over the grinding sound of the Grizzly's wheels. The young marine had really come to follow the krogan since they rescued Chairman Burns and Wrex was finding a tiny soft spot for the boy. He might be a real killer one day if he just let go of that thing humans called a conscience. Humans…they had more hangups than turians.

"Find me another target," Wrex called out to Garrus.

"Armature at eleven o'clock, two-hundred meters."

Wrex began to swing the turret to the left when something slammed into them. The entire tank lurched backward followed by a massive explosion. The krogan was momentarily deafened and his ears rang like a gong had been pounded in his face. "Son of a varren!"

He could see dull flames and smoke pouring into the cabin as red lights flashed all around him. He tried to look through the targeting scope, but the turret was gone, blown away by whatever hit them.

"We're dead in the water!" Fredericks shouted and then began coughing as smoke engulfed the marine.

Garrus waved his three-fingered hand to fan away the fumes. "We're being lined up for another shot. Bail out!"

Wrex growled and pounded his fist on the flickering console. He did not want to abandon the fight. Not when there were so many enemies to destroy. A krogan will pick fighting for credits every time, he once told Shepard and he was no exception. He did not kill the Maw on Tuchanka for the honor of Clan Urdnot just to run away from a little smoke now. Besides, he couldn't keep letting Shepard hog all the glory.

"No! We can still fight!" he said with a snarl, wanting to knock some sense into the turian.

A near miss rocked the tank, nearly upending it. The smoldering hulk slammed back down on the trail, knocking everyone around. Fredericks was hacking and flailing weakly now. Garrus snarled back through the fumes, his face glowing in the light of the nearby flames. "Don't be a fool, Wrex! We've got to go!"

The krogan was about end the debate decisively when the radio crackled. "Get out of there!" Shepard commanded. "You're holding up the assault!" Her voice told them that only the mission mattered at that moment. If they continued to be stupid, she'd mourn them later. Wrex bit his lip.

"Fine, Garrus, let's get out of here," he said, but the turian had already opened the hatch in the belly of the tank.

Garrus rolled down and out of the hole onto the ground up snow. "Wrex, Fredericks, c'mon! We've got to go!"

The krogan started to move when Fredericks grabbed his arm. "I'm stuck! I'm pinned in the seat!" the marine called.

Fire was beginning to spread and small caliber rounds pinged off of the ruined hull. Wrex started to pull his arm away, but he could see the fear in the boy's eyes. The flames were getting close. Wrex normally loved that look in people…that hopeless, terrified look. He'd seen it in hundreds, if not thousands of fallen foes. He'd even seen it in his traitorous father's eyes and he cherished that memory. But this was different.

"Don't let me burn, Wrex!"

Dammit. Shepard tried to teach him this stupid human trick she called compassion. Maybe it was working. With a thunderous growl, the krogan ripped the entire seat from its supports and threw it down the hole, jumping after it.

He landed on top of Fredericks, still strapped to his seat, and a moment later, another Grizzly rammed the ruined hulk, sending it over the ledge into the abyss. Snow blew up into their faces and Wrex was hit by a blast of bone-chilling cold as the blizzard raged around them. His wide eyes focused on a large object nearly upon them.

It was the following tank, just about to run them over.

Wrex grabbed the seat that was stuck to Fredericks and hurled it out of the way as Garrus scrambled aside. Wrex dove the other way just as the Grizzly's tracks ground the snow into a mushy mess. The krogan blew snowflakes from his face and sighed. This was something he couldn't get pissed off over. Despite her squeamish soft side, Shepard won battles. Shepard killed the enemy. That was something he could respect.

His earpiece crackled. "Glad to see you still alive, Wrex," Shepard said. "Now get back in the fight, krogan!"

He snickered. She really knew how to push his buttons, that human. If her humps weren't so small she might even be attractive by krogan standards. "Hrmph, mating with a human…." The thought was nearly enough to make him run screaming back down the hill like a salarian. He pulled himself out of the muck and drew his shotgun. "Yeah, fuck you too, Shepard."

Just then, the Mako flew overhead and bounced in the snow on its way into the battle. Pillars of exploding ice erupted all around as the Geth tried to stop the counterattack. With renewed ferocity, Wrex bounded into a run to catch up. Damn, this was going to be a good day after all.

**Tali'Zorah nar Rayya – 1235 hours**

Tali's stomach practically sank into her legs once more as the Mako lofted into the air over the burning Grizzly ahead of the armored column. "Oh, Keelah," she groaned and grabbed onto the back of Shepard's seat. She was really going to have to fine tune that Mass Effect generator and tweak the artificial gravity…assuming they lived that long.

As they reached the peak of the jump and began their downward path, her stomach felt like it floated up into her throat and her head felt like it was spinning in circles. The quarian closed her eyes and grit her teeth a moment before the impact and the horrible grinding noise of the torsion bars as they absorbed the weight of the Mako. Forcing her eyes back open, she peered out of the window over Shepard's shoulder and saw Geth troops running about as the Mako's machinegun mowed them down. A charged bolt whizzed past the bow of the tank and Tali involuntarily gasped.

"Take us down the left flank, Ash," Shepard barked. "All tanks, deploy in line!"

Tali glanced down at the tactical display and saw the slow Grizzlys forming a wall in front of the enemy. The hated Geth were in for it now. Admiral Rael'Zorah would be proud of her – the young quarian had helped to deal the Geth many blows in her short time aboard the _Normandy_. In fact, she'd already sent the Migrant Fleet exceptional data on the Geth…a gift from Shepard. One day, they would surely retake the homeworld. One day.

"Incoming!" It was Kaiden Alenko.

A tremendous jolt shocked Tali back into focus. Surges of blue energy hammered through the cabin, followed by sparks and then smoke. She cried out as she was thrown to the side of the cabin – the Mako was in a spin, skidding over the ice. She held a death grip on Shepard's seat and could see the world swirling around through the window. Then, her worst fear became reality. The Mako's right tires left the ground and the tank began to tumble. She wrapped her arms around the seat and the commander and held on for dear life as the Mako landed on its top and bounced back upright, each impact hitting Tali like a sledgehammer.

"Breathe, by Keelah…breathe," she said to herself through gritted teeth. The Mako had come to a stop and all was nearly quiet except for the thrumming of its engines reverberating through the cabin. Tali inhaled like a newborn baby, filling her lungs with filtered air. As she got her bearings, she could see Chief Williams slumped over the dashboard, blood soaking her hair while a fire smoldered at her feet. Part of the forward hull and the window had been sheered away from the Geth's shot, leaving jagged glass and metal behind.

With a grunt, Shepard was back on the guns, hammering away at the approaching Geth as Alenko ran his hands over his console.

"Deploying smoke!" Kaiden called as he blanketed the wounded tank. "Fire suppression inop!"

"Get us out of here, Ash!" Shepard ordered, apparently unaware that the chief was down.

Tali didn't have time to think. She scrambled forward and popped Ashley's harness, releasing the chief into her grasp. Tali pulled with all her might, yanking Ashley from the seat. Williams groaned weakly. With a grace of a dancer, the quarian slid into the driver's seat, oblivious to the growing fire on the floorboard.

"Moving, Shepard!"

She jammed her foot on the accelerator and the jolt of forward movement slammed her back into the seat. She ignored the increasing heat around her legs, hoping that her hardsuit would keep her from burning. The Mako jumped from the smoke screen into the open and Tali kept the wheel straight, veering the vehicle along the Geth's flank as wind and snow blew hard into the gaping hole in the hull. Then, the smoldering flame at her feet burst into a hot fire. The urge to flee…to save herself washed over her, but she couldn't let the commander down. Fire…what a horrible way to die. She'd seen it before in the Migrant Fleet. Ancient wires and systems would overload and the results were never pretty. She could still remember the charred bodies and the stench of burnt flesh. Would her father ever know how brave she was?

The report of the Mako's cannon kept her mind focused away from the pain and she saw a large red diamond on the tactical display fade to black.

"Kill one Armature!" Shepard called. "Keep us moving, Tali!"

Just when she thought she couldn't stand it any longer, she felt cooling foam wash over her legs. She turned quickly to see Kaiden hosing her down with the extinguisher. With the fire out, he looked down at her legs.

"How bad?" she asked, too afraid to look down herself. Burns always left horrible infections.

Kaiden licked his lips and narrowed his eyes. "Not bad at all, Tali." Humans were still tough to read for her. Was he lying?

The quarian kept her foot down on the accelerator, fighting past the fear and the painful tingles on the skin of her legs. Frost now coated the near opaque mask over her face and she could feel frozen tears on her cheek. "Which way, Shepard?"

"Left, thirty degrees!"

Tali spun the wheel and the Mako skidded in the opposite direction as the wheels tried to dig into the ice. The rattle of machinegun fire filled her ears along with the shriek of charged bolt roaring by. A quick glance at the display showed the armored ERCS charge forcing the Geth back though another Grizzly had been taken out.

"Full ahead!" Shepard yelled and Tali saw the red diamond just ahead of them on the display. Then, through the blizzard, the sight of an Armature getting larger and larger caused the quarian to gasp. "Ram it!" the commander ordered.

Tali grit her teeth. "Oh, Keelah!" As the humans say, this was going to suck.

The impact into the Armature threw the team forward and Tali put her hands up just before her head pounded into the dashboard. It felt like her arms had been ripped off, but it cushioned her face. White spots danced in her vision and she groaned weakly, her body numb with pain and cold. Flakes of snow landed on her mask and melted into slush. Nearly delirious, Tali thought about how she liked the snow. It felt 'outdoorsy'…it felt like nature. The sound of grinding metal and cracking ice made her look forward just in time to see the Armature tumble off the cliff into the ravine below.

"See yah, asshole," she said in slurring words.

Her head lolled to one side and she saw Wrex and Garrus running up the pathway, gunning down scattered Geth troopers. She couldn't quite figure out the krogan, but Garrus…she liked Garrus. He was quite handsome…for a turian. Then, strong hands seized hold of her shoulders and pulled her from the seat. Her vision was blurry, but she thought Shepard was looking down at her.

"Tali…Tali, stay with me."

The quarian blinked and, the next thing she knew, she was lying on the ground looking up at the snow swirling in the sky. It was really beautiful. If only her friends could see it. Kal'Reegar would love snow. She started go close her eyes. Life would be ok without her. Shepard would tell Rael'Zorah of her bravery. Shepard would tell the Council of the quality of the quarian people. Maybe, someone would help them find a world to settle.

"It's beautiful, Shepard," Tali whispered. She felt a slight sting on her thigh and knew it was an injection of medigel. A warm, soothing sensation coursed through her veins and she vaguely felt a blanket being thrown over her.

Shepard's hand caressed her mask. "Relax, Tali. You're going to be fine. Your hardsuit kept the fire away. Liara will stay with you and Ash now."

Liara? How did she get here? She must have come in one of the other tanks. Tali liked Liara – they were kindred souls in many ways, young and, in many ways naïve. She saw the familiar blue face smiling down at her.

Tali blinked and then watched as Shepard rose and pointed up the hill. "On me, Alenko. Let's finish them for good."

The quarian tried to rise, but her head throbbed and dizziness forced her back on the ground. She grasped the asari's hand. "Liara, I wouldn't have traded this experience for the homeworld."

"I understand, Tali. It has been a journey of exploration for me as well."

The sounds of battle grew fainter and Tali looked over to see the Mako sitting on the ice, slowly being covered in snow. It didn't look too bad, really. With a little work and some tech powers from her omni-tool, the tank would be up and running in a jiffy. 'Jiffy'…what a funny word. She found that she loved the quaint way humans used language and the odd way they had of expressing themselves. She knew her mind was rambling now so she propped herself up on her elbow, feeling stronger with each passing minute. Medigel was nothing short of a miracle.

"I'd follow Shepard into any battle," she said, turning to see if the battle was still within eyesight. It was not. The commander had the Geth on the run and was pursuing them relentlessly towards Peak 15.

She noticed Liara turn a different shade of blue at the mention of the commander's name. Liara broke eye contact and made a nervous smile. "I…I…uh, yes, I would do the same. I am greatly intrigued by the commander."

Tali was young, but she wasn't blind. Shepard had been spending a lot of time with Liara as of late. When the quarian went to visit Doctor Chakwas, she would hear them, deep in conversation about life, culture, the galaxy…. But, something didn't compute. Quarians had a special skill in blending in and observing things. She often saw the commander spending time with another member of the crew. "I thought that…uh…you know, Kaiden and Shep…," she said, but then trailed off. Perhaps her thoughts, and her observations, were better left unsaid.

Liara's mood visibly changed at that moment and a sudden chill came between them. The asari flared her nostrils and moved over to Chief Williams, who was just beginning to stir. "I should tend to Ashley," she said, turning her back on Tali.

The armored action taking place up the hill wasn't the only battle that was brewing. Tali took a deep breath and winced at her mistake. "Oh, Keelah, I have a big mouth."

CODEX –

Inop – Inoperable.


End file.
